Daniel Lanois , Charlotte Day Wilson , BEYRIES , and Elisapie .

Of course , it ’ s also the interminable efforts of L ’ Equipe Spectra , the festival ’ s organizer , that have forged the way for this return to big-ticket live events ( sans the physical tickets , of course . Touch points limited !). “ We never stop planning ,” chuckles L ’ Equipe Spectra Technical Coordinator Dan Meier . “ We ’ ve been working on different scenarios since March last year . We did [ Francos de Montreal ] and Jazz Fest last year , but it was only virtual … But during all this time , we made plans , we made scenarios , we tried to find a way to do a festival within the rules of the health regulations . So , a lot of planning , a lot of ‘ No , it ’ s not going to work , let ’ s go back .’ It ’ s been a full year and a half of planning to finally be able to do this .”

DANIEL LANOIS ON THE MAIN STAGE

Francos de Montreal , or FrancoFolies , is a separate French-language festival put on by L ’ Equipe Spectra for francophone artists , primarily in the singer-songwriter realm , but “ there ’ s also some rocking pieces ,” Meier describes . FrancoFolies served as a precursor to this year ’ s Jazz Fest , as the two festivals would share the same two-stage outdoor setting within Montreal ’ s Quartier des Spectacles .

“ We have two stages ,” Meier describes of this year ’ s events . “ Both stages are streamed online , live . Normally we have around five stages , but we had to make it smaller because of COVID , and also have restrictions and we had to deal with sanitary precautions . It ’ s also a matter of budget ; six months ago nobody was really expecting much stuff to happen in September .” As a festival that is typically free to the public , having to keep a much closer watch on who was coming in and out was also a new and unique challenge , Meier says ; but also indicative of the future of large-scale festivals . “ It ’ s still a free festival , but not as free as before . You have to reserve your ticket ; you have different zones , and there ’ s a certain amount of people allowed in each zone so that there ’ s enough space that people can keep the separation . So , it ’ s less instinctive and more regimented . You know , you have to get in the line , check your vaccination passport and everything

, so it ’ s a bit weird .” He notes though , that once the shows got underway , that this mattered very little as the relief of simply being there more than made up for the minimized logistical elbow room – and inversely , the increased physical elbow room perhaps atypical of these types of shows .

As is tradition , the production and audio-visual equipment provider for the festival was Quebec-based Solotech , with direct support from Meyer Sound – both of which have had a relationship with the festival and the team at L ’ Equipe Spectra for many , many years . Meier also remarks that this long-standing relationship between the entities , and the existing collaborative procedures between each of them , helped get this year ’ s festival on its feet . “ The personal relationships that have formed over the years helped us a lot because we didn ’ t have to start from scratch ; everybody was very , very , busy and focused and were able to react quickly even during these strange times where things are a bit more complicated than normal .”

“ This year ’ s festival was once again a great collaboration between the teams at L ’ Equipe Spectra , Solotech , and Meyer Sound ,” says Dany Legendre of GerrAudio , Meyer Sound ’ s local representation in Quebec and Eastern Canada . “ There is a rich history between all of us and this iconic Montreal event , and it is Meyer Sound ’ s goal

36 PROFESSIONAL SOUND